In the Fall of 1910, Sergei
Diaghilev and Igor Stravinsky convinced Alexandre
Benois to write the scenario (in collaboration with
the composer) and to design costumes and sets for an original
ballet to be entitled Petrushka. The ballet premiered
in 1911, and was perhaps the most successful and influential
Ballets Russes production.

LEFT:Benois'
design for the costume of the Moor, Petrushka's successful
rival and eventual murderer.

RIGHT: Goncharova
also designed for the Ballets Russes. This costume was drawn
for Diaghilev's
Paris production of Rimsky-Korsakov's opera The Golden
Cockerel (1914). The vibrant colors were typical for
Goncharova, and they were much appreciated by Paris audiences
who saw in them an example of Russian vital barbarism.

LEFT: This photomontage appeared in a Paris
fan magazine devoted to the Ballets Russes. We see, in costume,
the dancers who created the lead roles in Petrushka.
At the top left is Tamar Karsavina in the role of the Ballerina.
The top right is Nijinsky in the role of Petrushka. The
bottom right is the Magician of Enrico Cechetti, and, on
the lower left as well as in the center inset, the Moor.